In his 1999 book The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization, Thomas L. Friedman makes the argument that there are two conflicts going on in the world right now: the desire for prosperity and development, represented by the Lexus LS, and the desire to preserve identity and traditions, represented by the olive tree.
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The McDonald theory is what?
The McDonald’s theory of war is so-called but has nothing to do with fighting over a bacon and egg McMuffin. According to the notion, no nation that possesses a McDonald’s restaurant has ever been at war with another.
According to this line of reasoning, nations with middle classes large enough to support a McDonald’s have attained a degree of wealth and global integration that renders war risky and unappealing to their citizens.
According to Thomas Friedman, who developed the hypothesis in 1996, those in nations with McDonald’s “dislike participating in war. They enjoy lining up for hamburgers.”
What does globalization, as used by Thomas Friedman, mean?
Simply put, according to Friedman, globalization is the unprecedented integration of finance markets, national economies, and technological advancements worldwide.
Electronic herd: what is it?
Thomas Friedman coined the phrase “The Electronic Herd” in his book The Lexus and the Olive Tree. The terms “short-horn cattle” and “long-horn cattle” refer to two distinct subgroups of cattle.
All of the stock, bond, and currency traders worldwide are represented as short-horn cattle. Whether they work for insurance firms, banks, hedge funds, mutual funds, pension plans, or independent traders. They move money throughout the world, frequently on an extremely short-term basis, which is why they are known as short-horn cattle.
Large multinational firms like General Electric, General Motors, IBM, Intel, Siemens, etc. that progressively invest in or relocate production to foreign nations are represented by long-horn cattle. They have long investment horizons, which is why they are referred to as long-horn cattle.
By equating the herd with globalization, Friedman contends that it cannot be stopped without having a significant negative impact on each society’s growth prospects. Additionally, neither globalization nor the consequences of the herd were purposefully produced (112). The notion that a government’s own monetary policy entirely dominated the setting of its own interest rates and that a government’s fiscal policy was by far the most important tool for promoting growth in the pre-1970s Cold War system has been replaced by the Herd. [These closed economies] tightly regulated the value of their currencies, implemented capital controls, and tariffs to safeguard native national firms (115).
Because one emerging nation lives in fear of receiving a “no-confidence vote from the herd,” The Herd has been able to play that nation off of one another (134). They are able to indirectly influence the governments’ economic policies due to the competition that occurs between these nations to create the most hospitable, stable, and appealing conditions for the herd (139). According to Friedman, all of the world’s leaders are now only governors, and their major responsibility is to persuade the herd to invest in their states (139).
The significance of the golden arches
The golden letter M and a crimson background make up McDonald’s logo.
According to design expert and psychologist Louis Cheskin, the round M signifies a mummy’s mammaries while the square M stands for McDonald’s. In the 1960s, McDonald’s was ready to do away with this sign, but Cheskin persuaded the business to stick with it thanks to its Freudian meaning of two feeding breasts.
Although this may be amusing to us, it is not amusing to the marketing consultants and industrial psychologists who are paid millions to research new ways to entice us into making purchases by exploiting our irrational wants.
The output of “Since the 1920s, marketing psychology has been studying hidden persuaders. Today, some businesses even hypnotize consumer focus groups to elicit their deepest associations.
Children can recognize a company logo before they can recognize their own name, according to market study.
By making its outlets simple to find on the US highway system, McDonald’s ensured the visibility of its brand and, in the process, transformed fast food.
Ray Kroc, the chain’s creator, saw to it that more than half of Americans reside 3 minutes’ drive or less from a McDonald’s. In the 1960s, he utilized the corporate plane to identify from the air the ideal intersections and locations for new restaurant branches.
Because Kroc intended to draw religious families to his temples of efficiency and nourishmentwhich always had clean toiletschurch steeples were frequently his guide.
In the USA, more people currently eat at McDonald’s than visit a synagogue or a church. The golden arches are more well-known than the Christian cross, according to surveys.
“The phrase “give Mom a night off” was used in early advertisements, so she wouldn’t have to do any cooking, serving, or cleaning after the meal.
McDonald’s and other American fast food outlets provide a taste of the American Dream to customers outside of the United States.
However, McDonald’s and many other fast food restaurants in the USA and internationally now specifically target children in their marketing efforts.
A playground with vivid primary colors is present. You can eat food that is greasy, salty, and sweet with your fingers. You will be greeted by a clown named Ronald McDonald and have the opportunity to receive free toys from movies and television shows “Pleasant Meal
Psychologists support a theory that Walt Disney and Ray Kroc both used “Brand loyalty can develop as early as age two.
Which nations are devoid of McDonald’s?
Out of the 105 nations in the world, these are a few where you won’t find McDonald’s fries or burgers.
- Jamaica*
- Yemen
- Montenegro
- Barbados*
- Bermuda*
- Ghana
- Cambodia
* Indicates nations with at least one McDonald’s location that has subsequently closed.
According to Kerssen, “many individuals have stated that Bolivians rejected McDonald’s because they have a cultural affinity for traditional, wholesome, local, and “slow” foods. “However, salchipapafrench fries with hot dog slices on top and ketchup and mayonnaise on them are a popular snack. As far as I can tell, the majority of Bolivians enjoy burgers and fries.”
Their McDonald’s closure in Iceland, a small island nation, was more of an economic decision.
Before being forced to close his doors in 2009 following 18 months of financial difficulty, Jon Gardar Ogmundsson operated one of just three McDonald’s restaurants in the nation for about six years.
He claims that the cost of things doubled or tripled when they were imported. “We always believed that Iceland’s currency would strengthen, but that hasn’t happenednot even today.”
Burger sales at his McDonald’s location fell off. But he continued to play the burger game despite the financial crisis. He currently operates Metro, a fast food restaurant that uses only locally produced ingredients.
Additionally, Metro “is actually doing quite well,” according to Ogmundsson, who now has the freedom to set his own prices for his goods and cater to the more discriminating Icelanders with more health-conscious menu options.
Thomas Friedman claims that the world is flat for a reason.
According to Friedman, the competitive playing grounds between industrial and emerging markets are becoming more equal. He describes how many Chinese and Indian businesses are outsourceing their production to participate in intricate global supply networks.
by Thomas L. Friedman
Phase one lasted until 1800, when states took control of the entire world. Then, in phase two, between 1800 and 2000, international firms began to flourish. People trying to take control of their economic fate are what identify the third phase of globalization, which has been in effect since the year 2000 and will likely continue into the foreseeable future.
In a nutshell, that is the central tenet of The World Is Flat, which was first released in 2005. The New York Times op-ed writer and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Thomas Friedman asserts that “when the earth is flat, you can create without having to emigrate.”
According to Friedman, the world is flat in the sense that the playing field for competition between industrialized and emerging market nations is leveling. Additionally, small and large businesses, as well as individual entrepreneurs, are joining a vast, intricate global supply chain that spans oceans and involves competition on multiple continents.
The author hypothesizes that the fall of communism, the dot-com bubble (which led to excessive investment in fiber-optic telecommunications), and the subsequent outsourcing of engineers hired to address the alleged Y2K problem were the catalysts for this occurrence. However, the full effects of these events are still not fully felt or understood.
This book is Friedman’s account of the profound changes that are occurring in our time as lightning-quick developments in communication and technology bring people from all corners of the globe closer than ever before, causing an explosion of wealth in China, India, and other countries, as well as transforming eBay hobbyists sitting in their living rooms into successful international merchants…and challenging the rest of us to run even faster if we hope to keep pace.
By demystifying this brave new flat world, Friedman helps readers make sense of the frequently perplexing tableau that is playing out in front of their eyes and comprehend what it all means for nations, businesses, communities, and people. A crucial update on globalization’s drawbacks and achievements is The World Is Flat.
What does the phrase “the world is flat” mean?
Thomas L. Friedman’s book The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century examines globalization, focusing mostly on the early twenty-first century. The phrase “level playing field” refers to the idea that, save for labor, all competitors in the world of trade are given an equal chance to succeed. The title also relates to the perceptual shift necessary for nations, businesses, and individuals to remain competitive in a global market where, according to the author, historical and geographic divides are becoming increasingly obsolete, as the first edition cover illustration shows. [Reference needed]
Friedman, who describes himself as a “free-trader” and a “compassionate flatist,” is a fervent supporter of those developments and opposes the cultures that oppose them. He highlights the certainty of rapid change as well as the extent to which newly developed capacities of people and developing nations are placing significant pressure on businesses and people in the United States. He offers specific suggestions to Americans as well as to people in developing countries. Friedman’s writing is the result of extensive personal investigation, travel, dialogue, and thought. In The World Is Flat, he blends an accessible conceptual analysis in his signature style, including personal tales and opinions. The book was initially published in 2005, followed by releases in 2006 that were “updated and expanded,” and then again in 2007 under the title “further updated and expanded: Release 3.0.” The title is a quotation from Nandan Nilekani, a former Infosys CEO. [1] The Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award was given to The World Is Flat in 2005. [2]
Which of the following is a pro-globalization argument?
Which of the following is a pro-globalization argument? All consumers will profit from globalization much more than they will lose jobs to foreign competition.
How Did America Lag in the World It Created?
The nonfiction book That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back was co-written by Michael Mandelbaum, a writer and professor of foreign policy at Johns Hopkins University, and Thomas Friedman, a Pulitzer Prizewinning author and columnist for the New York Times. On September 5, 2011, they released the book in America. It discusses potential solutions for the four main issues that the writers believe are now plaguing America. Globalization, the information technology revolution, the country’s persistent deficits, and its pattern of energy consumption are identified as these issues. [1][2]